Roger Ritt is senior counsel in the firm's Tax Group. He concentrates his practice on (i) federal and state tax controversies in which he has successfully represented clients in the US Tax Court, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, IRS appeals and other courts and administrative proceedings, (ii) taxable and tax-free mergers, acquisitions and spin-offs, (iii) executive compensation and § 280G golden parachutes, and (iv) bankruptcies and workouts.

Practice

Mr. Ritt has served as tax counsel to a number of clients in merger and acquisition and spin-off transactions, including Dean Foods in its spin-off of TreeHouse, Blockbuster's Special Committee in the spin-off of Blockbuster by Viacom, Akamai, Avid, BJ's Wholesale Club, John Hancock, Redhat, Sepracor, Teradyne and Wright Express.

Mr. Ritt has also represented clients in significant bankruptcy cases. He acted as tax counsel to Harold Brown in the largest individual bankruptcy case in New England, to the debtors in the Arch Wireless, Mattress Discounters, and KB Toys Chapter 11 proceedings, and to the creditors committees in the Wang and the EUA Power Chapter 11 proceedings.

In the controversy area, Mr. Ritt has successfully represented many clients at the US Tax Court, IRS appeals, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board and the Massachusetts Department of Revenue. He represented the principal owners of the Boston Celtics in a tax dispute arising in connection with its public offering, obtaining multi-million dollar judgments in Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board proceedings that were affirmed by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts.

Professional Activities

In 2013, Mr. Ritt was elected to the American College of Tax Counsel (ACTC) Board of Regents for the First Circuit. He is the former chair of the Corporate Tax Committee of the American Bar Association's Section on Taxation, and is a fellow of the ACTC.

From 1979 to 1992, Mr. Ritt taught "Corporate Income Taxation" and "Advanced Partnership Taxation" as an adjunct professor of law in the graduate tax program at Boston University School of Law. He is a frequent lecturer at tax programs throughout the country, including those sponsored by ALI-ABA , the American Bar Association, the Boston Bar Association, the California Tax Bar, the Federal Tax Institute of New England, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, the New York University Institute on Federal Taxation, the Texas Federal Tax Institute and the World Trade Institute.